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A Zest of Life

Lunar New Year

Friday, 23 February 2018

Slightly belated, but Happy Lunar New Year!

I often get questions regarding whether Japan celebrates Lunar New Year, and to the surprise of many, the answer is no! Although many of the Asian countries follow the Chinese lunisolar calendar, and thus celebrate Lunar New Year (such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, Macau, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and more), Japan in fact follows the Gregorian calendar, meaning New Years is January 1st. However, what I didn't know until recently was that Japan used to celebrate Lunar New Year up until 1873. Due to Western influences on Japan during this Meiji period, Japan switched from following the lunisolar calendar to adopting the Gregorian calendar. Who knew! (well, I didn't at least haha).

And, to the many of you who have expressed confusion as to what my cultural background is, I am half Japanese and half Chinese. Because the majority of my Chinese relatives live in China and being only half Chinese, I generally don't really celebrate it with my family. It was only during university when I got to surround myself with friends who celebrate Lunar New Year, but live away from home, and so I was able to experience a warm, celebratory get-together with them. From making dumplings and various home-cooked meals to watching the CCTV New Year's gala—it was such a fun experience!

With that being said, to everyone who celebrates Lunar New Year, I hope you had an amazing few days of fun, laughter, family, friends, and good food.